"Halo 3, a great shooter with a minimal amount of flaws..."

Halo 3 is a game that combines great shooter elements and a good story line. When you first pop in the disc you have quite a bit of options on what to do first. Do you head right into the Campaign to finish the fight? Do you go to Matchmaking to pwn some noobs? Do you play some Custom Games with your friends to get a handle on the game play and maps? Or do you build a new map in Forge? These are all good choices as Halo 3 lets you have fun in any of these, offering what some games do not. The freedom to do whatever you want.

To start off, the campaign is great. There are some battles that seem almost impossible, but you can make it through. A great point in the campaign is when you are able to use vehicles, it really heightens the experience. At a certain point in the campaign, there is a massive mid-air battle that is actually one of the more difficult parts. The battle, nonetheless, is an exciting moment, especially with some friends to play with. Of course there are some people who may not like vehicles, in which case there are also some great encounters with some very tough enemies. The campaign is a great part in this game though it is not exactly its strong point.

There is also Custom Games to play with friends, or anyone who wants to join. This is another great part in Halo 3, as it lets you try out your game variants and Forged maps. First, the game variants, in case you don't know what they are. Slayer is where you just go around and kill other people, which can be a free for all, or in teams. Oddball is a game type where you must grab the skull that appears to get points, it can be free for all or teams. King of the Hill is a game type where you or your team must stay in a boundary to get points. Juggernaut is a game type where there is one person who is strong and must be defeated to get points. Infection is a game type where there are zombie, who can infect humans to become zombies and humans, who must last as long as possible. VIP is a game type where teams have a VIP that must be protected from the other team. Capture the Flag is a game type where teams must get the other team's flag and bring it to their own base for points.

Now THIS is Halo 3's main attraction! Matchmaking! Now for those of you that do not have an internet connection with your Xbox 360 or do not have a gold Xbox Live membership, you are, unfortunately, missing a great part of Halo 3. In matchmaking, there are a multitude of playlists that are for every kind of player. For those who like teamwork, you may like Team Doubles. For the player who wants to go it solo, there is Lone Wolves. For people who like massive carnage there is Big Team Battle. There are many more game types that are not just limited to slayer. There is Oddball, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Juggernaut, Infection and VIP, most of which can be with teams or a free for all.

In matchmaking, sometimes, unfortunately, you get paired up with some jerks. They may cuss or they may team kill. This is an unfortunate part of Halo 3 that is a major problem. Another problem with matchmaking is the connection. If you don't have a good connection, don't expect to get a very good score. Sometimes the Halo 3 servers go on the fritz and the whole match ends abruptly. This is a rare occurrence, but should be known about nonetheless. Even though there are jerks in matchmaking and the occasional bad connection, matchmaking is definitely Halo 3's strong point, allowing for competitive or casual players to have fun in their own ways.

FORGE! This is by far my personal favorite part of Halo 3! In forge, you select a map and then it allows you to place some objects where you want. These items can range from boxes and crates to weapons and vehicles. With Forge, you can build a map that has only certain types of weapons, or no weapons at all. Forge is a really good tool for those people that have always wanted to make their own maps. In the Heroic map pack, released sometime in April, a map called Foundry was included. This map was made for Forging, as it lets the player delete every object, and is basically a map with nearly limitless possibilities! Some people have made maps, others have made ships.

There are so many ways to configure the maps in forge! The downside to Forge is that some objects are not in all maps. For example, in the original maps, there were boxes at Last Resort that could be placed. They were however, movable. This limit the way people can construct maps, because people could simply move the object and it could completely ruin the way the map is supposed to be played. That having been said, Forge is still a great part of Halo 3 that all players should at least try out.

All of these aspects of Halo 3 make a truly remarkable game. It lets you do so many things, while having fun with each and every one. The downside to Halo 3 is, however, that if you do not have Live, then you are missing a lot of the game. Matchmaking is great and so is sharing your Forge creations online. But, if you don't have live, you can still have fun in custom games with some friends. Halo 3 is a game that almost every fan of First Person Shooters should try, and I believe that, if you do, you shall not be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10 | Originally Posted: 05/12/08

Game Release: Halo 3 (US, 09/25/07)

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